In The Eyes Of A Child
by DarkGirlX
Summary: Oneshot: Who would have known that a visit to a park could change his views. You decide who the character is. Keep in mind this is my first attempt at fan fiction. Constructive critism would be appreciated.


Okay, so maybe storming out of the meeting wasn't his best idea ever, but at the time it had seemed like the only thing he could do. Besides, everyone knew that he tended to act first and think later. It always helped him in the ring, but his bosses were quick to remind him that it usually ended with him in trouble out side of it. He ran a hand over his face and sighed in frustration. He slipped his sunglasses on to protect his eyes from the harsh Floridian sunlight. Forsaking his car, he opted for a nice long walk. He just needed to get away for a while.

As he ambled along slowly, he allowed his thoughts to wonder. It wasn't that he didn't like his job. Sure, it may not have been what he wanted as a child, but now it was all he could imagine doing. The thrill of the audience, the rush of adrenaline, the knowledge that he had just helped put on a show that would leave the fans talking: It was all he wanted. Just to be a part of it all, to share in the glory of a job well done.

Management, co-workers, and family all told him the same thing. That he was a part of it all. That he was needed. Yet, none of them could come up with an explanation as to why he was without a storyline still. The lack of a storyline meant he wasn't able to get the TV time to show the fans what he was capable of. Why he got into this business, despite his mother wanting him to become a lawyer.

Stopping at an intersection, he paused to look around and get his bearings. Across the street from him was a park. Deciding that it would be the best place to hide and think things thru, he moved quickly to his destination. Even as he came upon the entrance, he could hear the laughter and screams of children playing with friends and making new ones. His lips tilted upwards in a slight smile and his eyes lost their angry stare behind the dark glasses.

He walked around the perimeter of the action. He had spent so much time in his neighborhood park growing up that being here now was like revisiting the past: Climbing trees with his best friend, Jimmy, trying to fly from the swings, the countless games of tag, terrorizing the girls that were playing with dolls. Hell, even his first kiss had been at the park.

He knew work wasn't the real reason for his blow up today. It was just misplaced anger on his part. The real problem was girls. Or, more precisely, his girl and the bombshell she had dropped last night. He thought back to the previous night and the turmoil that had come from it.

Flashback

_Carefully, he climbed out of the car and approached the door to his home. He had finished a grueling match at BCW just hours before, and he was already feeling the effects of a botched landing on his part. They had practiced the move beforehand, but somehow during the actual show, he had managed to twist and landed with his body at the wrong angle. It wasn't as if he'd never been hurt in the ring before, but it was still a stupid mistake for him to have made. _

_All he wanted was to relax on his own couch in front of his own television with an ice cold beer and his girl by his side. He didn't think it was so much to ask for. He opened the door, expecting to see Lisa waiting for him as she usually was. However, the sight that greeted him was an empty kitchen and living room. Not thinking much of it, he closed the door softly in case she was sleeping. Groaning deeply, he made his way up the stairs, his stiff and sore body protesting the action. _

_From the landing, he could see light streaming out from the door to their room. Lisa was either awake or had fallen asleep waiting for him. He grinned mischievously. He sat his bag down just to the left of the door before rummaging inside it for the item he needed. This wasn't originally how he planned to do this, but the plane ride had given him time to think it thru. He had decided that tonight was the night. He wasn't going to let any distractions come between him and his goal. Closing his hand around the object, his smile widened as he stood up and pushed the door gently open. He didn't see her immediately, but that didn't faze him, Lisa was always falling asleep in the window seat. He slipped quietly into the room, not wanting to wake her just yet. He wanted to be all set when she saw him home. _

_He opened the object and looked down at it, taking a deep breath before turning towards the window seat. As expected, Lisa was sitting on it with her arms wrapped around her knees, her head resting on the top of them. She was gazing out the window, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. He smiled lovingly at the image she presented him. Lisa had always managed to steal his breath away from him. Her outer beauty only second to her inner. She was everything he had ever wanted and so much more. They were best friends who had fallen in love. How much better could life get? Seeing her now, totally oblivious to him, made his nerves disappear. He knew he wanted to do this, and for him, there was no better time. _

_He hid the object behind his back, leaving it open, and walked softly over to her. Kneeling down in front of her, he gently kissed her ankle. Alerted to his presence, Lisa jumped slightly before rubbing her eyes and turning to him. He was shocked to see her face stained with tears and more threatening to fall from her brown eyes. _

_Instantly concerned, he reached up and brushed the tears away. "Lisa, what's the matter? What happened?"_

"_I…I…I'm…," unable to go on, she broke down again. _

_He slipped the item into his pocket so he could wrap both arms around her, giving her the comfort she needed. He desperately tried to catch her eye, knowing she couldn't hide anything from him, but she avoided looking at him. _

"_Honey, whatever it is, we'll get through it. Just tell me what's wrong so I can help."_

"_I… I… I'm… pregnant," came the barely audible reply._

_Shock suffused his body, rendering him unable to move. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open for a moment. "I… we... we're going to be parents?"_

_For a few moments he sat in stunned silence. A slight wind could have knocked him over. Suddenly, he scooped Lisa up into his arms, whooping for joy. His eyes sparkled with excitement and happiness. He was going to be a daddy. And with the girl he loved more than anything else in the world. Nothing could have made him happier. The pain of the match, the stress from work, the ribbing of his friends, it was all forgotten. _

_Just then it dawned on him that Lisa was still crying. Unable to figure out why, he sat her down on her feet, holding her close. "Sweetie, that's the best news I've ever heard. There is nothing I want more than to have children with you. I love you."_

_Instead of his words calming her, she seemed more distraught than ever. Confused, he rubbed his hands up and down her back, murmuring soothing words in her ear. After what seemed like an eternity, Lisa finally calmed down enough to look at him. She pulled out of his embrace and sat on the window seat once more. _

"_Um…," she started, looking down at her hands. "There's more."_

_He sat down beside her and tried to pull her to him again. "Just tell me, babe, so I can help you. We've talked about having kids, and I thought we were on the same page. You told me you wanted them as much as I did. So, what's going on? It's okay to be scared, I am too. We just have to-"_

_Lisa cut him off by placing her hand over his mouth. He resisted the urge to lick it, knowing this wasn't the time for games, and waited for her to say what she needed to. She spoke softly, still staring at her hands. "I've been trying to figure out how to tell you everything for hours now, and so far no good way has come to me. So, I guess the only way to do this is to just say it and get it over with."_

_He tried to interrupt her again but a glare from her convinced him to let her finish before saying anything. _

"_What I'm trying, and failing miserably, to tell you is that, um… The baby... It's sort of…" She trailed off, wringing her hands together tightly._

"_Sort of what, baby? Is something wrong with it?" He was getting anxious at this point. He wanted to know what was wrong so he could fix it._

_Lisa took a deep breath before saying it in a rush. "The baby isn't yours."_

End Flashback

The other events of the night were a blur for him. He remembered trying to drink himself into oblivion with a few friends after storming out. The hurt, confusion, anger, betrayal and humiliation would not leave him, nor would the questions. Why did this happen? Why didn't he see what was happening? What did he do wrong? What could he have done differently?

He collapsed onto a nearby bench, pulling out the object from his pocket where it had stayed after Lisa's announcement. Slowly he opened the box, almost afraid to look at it again. The ring she had always wanted was there. He couldn't believe he had been ready to propose to the girl of his dreams, only to have the same girl rip his world to shreds. His heart literally hurt just thinking about her and what she had done. He blinked furiously at the blurriness unsuccessfully. He lifted his sunglasses off in order to wipe his eyes of the tears. He tried to force his mind off of the painful subject by looking around him now. He watched the children running around and playing.

He watched as a mother comforted her child that had fallen, he seen a little girl pushing another child on the swings. He watched as a group of children tried to play what he assumed was soccer according to five year olds. The sights before him eased his hurt a little. The world in the eyes of a child was so simple and perfect. He couldn't help but wish he could go back to being so young. Before the world started to demand so much of him, back to a time when the most important thing he had to worry about was whether he had the biggest insect or the fastest bike. A much less complicated time.

It was then that he noticed a little boy on the far side of the playground look his way before turning to a bag and digging thru it. He watched curious as to what the little boy was going to do. The little boy turned to a young woman after finding what he was looking for, before standing up and walking off. The woman looked cautious, but allowed the small child to go. He allowed the ring to spin around his finger absently as the child walked over to him clutching a couple of toys.

He smiled gently at the child, not wanting to scare him with his bad mood. It had been a while since he had gotten to sit and talk to a fan, especially one so young. And judging by one of the toys in his hand, he was a fan. He spoke softly as to not startle the child. "Hey, buddy."

"Hi," the little boy responded shyly.

He chuckled quietly before speaking again. "What's you're name?"

"Luke," the little boy replied, holding his hand out.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Luke," he shook Luke's hand. "I'm-"

"Oh, I know who you are!" Luke held up one of his toys, sure enough it was his own face staring up at him from Luke's grasp.

"You should be in bed long before we come on."

"Amy says the same thing. She tapes it for me and lets me watch it the next day. She says it's so I can work off all the energy I get before bed again."

Trying to hide the laughter, he asked, "Amy?"

"My sister," the youngster said matter-of-factly.

"What about your mom and dad?" He knew he was being nosy, but he couldn't help be curious.

"They're visiting Heaven. Amy says I can go see them someday, but right now she needs me here."

He cursed himself for asking; even Luke didn't seem to mind. He knew memories like that could be very painful. Attempting to change the subject after his slip up, he asked. "So, what brings you all the way over here? Shouldn't you be joining in on all the fun?"

"I wanted to give you this." Luke held up the dinosaur for him to inspect.

Taken aback from the offer, he took the stuffed animal from him. "Thank you, Luke. Why did you want to give this to me? You must like it to carry it around."

"It looked like you were sad, and this always makes me feel better. I wanted to share it with you."

At first, he didn't have the words to respond to that statement. Then he decided to be as honest as he could with the six year old. "I am sad a little bit, and this is already starting to help me." He smiled weakly at his companion.

"Why are you so sad?"

He thought of how to answer that to a child. He attempted to make it as simple as possible, even though it was anything but simple for him to deal with. "A friend of mine decided she didn't want to be my friend anymore."

"Why," he asked innocently.

He sighed and replied, "She found someone else she wants to be friends with instead of me."

Luke chewed on his lip for a moment, looking to his right where the woman was before nodding slightly. He watched curiously as the little boy climbed up onto the bench beside him and wrapped his little arms around his neck.

He was slightly shocked; he hadn't expected that kind of reaction from the boy. However, he returned the hug, surprised at how much he seemed to need it. Luke leaned close and whispered, "Amy also gives me kisses when I'm sad."

Trying hard not to laugh at Luke's expression, he had wrinkled his face in disgust at the thought of kisses. He winked at his companion, "Amy must love you a lot, you know."

Luke nodded solemnly, "yes, she does. She tells me that just because I'm not her son, don't mean she can't love me as if I am. She says if you love someone, that blood doesn't matter, only your heart. She says that friends and family are the most important things in the world."

His eyes widened as Luke imparted his wisdom on him. How could he have forgotten? Before he and Lisa dated, they were friends. He had tossed all those years away last night in his anger. She had tried to explain what had happened, but in his typical fashion, he hadn't listened, choosing to act first. He hung his head in shame, not knowing if this mistake could be fixed and a life long friendship salvaged from it. Even if they weren't dating, he had always said Lisa's friendship was more important to him than anything.

Luke spoke again, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Amy's ready to go home, but…"

He looked up to see the woman motioning Luke over to her before turning his attention to the boy. "What, buddy?"

Luke seemed to struggle with saying what he wanted to. Finally he blurted out, "will you be my friend? I like talking to you. You're nice."

He reached over and hugged the little boy before helping him from the bench they were occupying. He smiled at him and said simply, "I'd love to. I like talking to you, too. As long as your sister says it's fine. You really did make me feel better, Luke."

Luke beamed at him while jumping around excitedly. He tugged on the man's hand before saying, "c'mon, let's go! You have to meet Amy before she'll let us be friends."

He allowed himself to be led over to the woman. There was a lightness to him that hadn't been there before he entered the park. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from him. He knew that once he left here, he would have to go back to the building and apologize to his bosses as well as the writers for his actions. Then, once work was taken care of, he would go to Lisa and beg for her friendship back. After all, that was the most important thing. It had just taken the innocence of a child to remind him. Only thru a child's eyes could life be so simple.


End file.
